


Break The Plans We Had Before

by mukeofficial



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Sex, this takes place a few years in the future!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:28:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4165911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mukeofficial/pseuds/mukeofficial
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Calum loved his best friends, Michael and Luke, more than anything; and being able to give the best man speech at their wedding was an honor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Break The Plans We Had Before

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wolvernation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolvernation/gifts).



> SO happy that I finally finished this! A major thank you to [Jamie](http://rollercoastar.tumblr.com/) for helping me come up with the main plot of this, and to all of my friends who encouraged me to finish this even when I was about to give up. Hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> (Also this is a very late happy birthday present to my best friend [Jess](http://daddieluke.tumblr.com/) ! Better late than never, am I right?)

Calum took a deep breath as he looked around the large room he was in. It was filled with lots of laughter and drink clinks, as well as many smiling, familiar faces. He felt the back of his neck was wet from sweat, quickly rubbing it away and taking another sip of chardonnay.

He had performed in front of crowds hundreds of times bigger than this before, hundreds of times before. Why was he so nervous to give a speech to a smaller number of people he actually knew?

He felt a hand squeeze his knee therapeutically. He looked over at his boyfriend, whose hazel eyes were sparkling in the light of the ballroom. His usually messy curls were slightly more tamed today, looking almost amusing with the tux he was wearing also. Calum’s boyfriend grinned a dimply smile at him, filling Calum’s heart with warmth.

“You nervous?” Ashton asked, continuing to rub small circles with his thumb on Calum’s thigh.

“A little.” Calum admitted, placing his hand over Ashton’s. “I shouldn’t be, though, should I? It’s silly.”

“I don’t think you’re being silly.” Ashton said honestly, motioning his free hand down the table a few seats away from them. “You’re giving one of the most important speeches of your life for your favorite people today. It’s a big deal.”

Calum’s eyes followed Ashton’s hand down the table to land on his two best friends. Calum’s face softened when he saw Luke throwing his head back in laughter at something his brother Jack said. He was sitting on his now husband’s lap, due to the table having one less seat than it was supposed to – and after Michael made a joke that Luke should just sit on his lap instead of getting another seat, Luke couldn’t refuse that offer. Michael had complete heart eyes for Luke as the blond man laughed. The older boy snaked his arms around Luke’s middle and then kissed the back of his neck.

“They’re so happy.” Calum commented, speaking his mind as he watched Luke turn his head so he could kiss Michael properly.

Ashton said something that Calum didn’t hear, the dark haired boy too hypnotized by his best friends being in love. “What was that?”

Ashton just chuckled. “Nothing, I’ll tell you later. Looks like it’s time for your speech, babe.”

Calum glanced up, watching as Michael’s father rushed up to Calum to hand him a microphone. The dark haired boy cleared his throat as he stood up and took the microphone from Daryl. Calum heard someone tapping their glass, and more began to follow to signal the room to quiet down completely. He turned around to see Michael having begun it, winking at Calum, followed by thumbs up from Luke.

Calum loved his best friends more than anything, and being able to give the best man speech at their wedding was an honor. The nerves slowly lifted off of him as he looked back at Ashton one last time before beginning his speech.

“First off, I would like to say congratulations to these two love birds, Michael and Luke, who tied the knot today!”

A round of applause filled the room, reminding Calum of being on stage in front of a much larger audience, asking them if they have been enjoying the show tonight. He had missed that feeling – taking a year off from touring so Michael and Luke could get married had been wonderful, but if Calum was being honest, it got very boring very fast. Being able to stand in front of people and speaking into a microphone seemed a lot more familiar and comfortable that Calum expected it to be. He smiled as the applause died down and he slowly went over his mental memory for the speech he had written.

“If you had told me – back when I was in year nine with these two weirdos – that I would one day be delivering the best man speech at Michael and Luke’s wedding, I would have told you that you were crazy. I remember first becoming friends with Luke, and Michael yelling at me for consulting with the enemy. These two  were at each other’s throat every day during history class in year nine, and by the end of that year I was honestly surprised they hadn’t killed each other.

“That being said, when I walked into the band room in year 10 and saw Michael teaching Luke a new riff on the guitar instead of trying to hit him over the head with it, surprised was an understatement. I watched my two best friends go from enemies to friends, to _best_ friends, to so much more. I remember the night Michael called me after they had finished a cover for YouTube, yelling about how he finally kissed Luke, and how just from that he knew Luke was the one.”

Calum glanced back at his two best friends, Michael still having his arms tight around Luke’s middle, nuzzling his face into the back of Luke’s neck. The blond man’s face was smiling, dimples creasing his face as he sat in the arms of the man he loved. Calum felt his heart grow with admiration of their love for each other.

“Now would usually be the time when I would talk about a time when we were younger, maybe a silly story about when we were in school. Maybe I would talk about the day at lunch Michael first told me he thought Luke was cute and I choked so hard on an apple piece we almost had to call the nurse.”

Laughter filled the room, mostly from Ashton, who said between breaths, “I never heard that story!” Calum shook his head and continued.

“But that story will be for another time. The story I decided to share is one that is much more recent, something equally as silly but much more exciting, at least in my opinion. It all started about a year ago, when Michael first told me he was thinking about proposing to Luke. We were in Canada, of all places, right after a show…”

~~~

_One year earlier…_

“Jesus, I’m getting too damn old for this.” Ashton sighed as he plopped down on the couch next to Calum.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Calum said, wrapping his arm around the older boy. “I feel perfectly fine.”

“Good. Then you have enough energy to cuddle me.” Ashton announced, leaning into his boyfriend’s arms. Calum beamed as he tightened his arm around his boyfriend, kissing his temple and then resting his own head on the older boy’s. Ashton wasn’t usually a cuddly person – especially when they were just done with a show, hype and sweat radiating from their bodies – so Calum closed his eyes and took in the rare moment.

“Ew. Get a room.” Michael commented, entering the room from the showers with only a towel around his waist.

“Says the guy who just blew his boyfriend in the shower I was _ABOUT TO GO SHOWER IN!”_ Ashton said disapprovingly.

Michael’s eyes grew wide. “You can’t prove shit!”

As if on cue, Luke exited the shower with only a pair of sweatpants around his waist, ignoring the rest of the boys and heading straight for his phone. Michael cursed under his breath while Calum and Ashton shot off “I told you so’s” in his direction.

“Whatever. It was totally worth any ridicule you two could throw at me.” Michael walked over to Luke and threw his arms around the blond, kissing his bare back. Luke smiled back at Michael’s touch, leaning into it slightly out of habit.

“Hey. We should do that sometime, you know, to get them back.” Calum whispered seriously into Ashton’s ear.

The older boy rolled his eyes. “Maybe at the next venue we can try to beat them to it.” Ashton whispered back, smacking a loud kiss on Calum’s cheek.

“Maybe we should just have a group shower.” Luke suggested loudly, putting on a fake-serious face as gaze finally drifted off his phone onto his cuddling band mates. “Or just learn to whisper more quietly.”

“Man, shut up.” Calum yelled back. “Maybe if YOU knew how to be quiet when getting head in the shower, we wouldn’t know your personal business in the first place.”

“Don’t listen to them, babe.” Michael said into Luke’s ear. “I like when you’re loud.”

Luke smirked, and turned his head to kiss Michael properly, while Calum and Ashton both commented “Gross” and “Disgusting” at the same time.

“I just _had_ to join the gayest band in the world.” Ashton shook his head.

“You contribute to the gayness, though.” Calum pointed out.

“Luke?” A woman who appeared in the doorway asked. “Can I borrow you for a second?”

“Yup, coming now.” Luke said, grabbing a shirt and leaving, saying to Michael that he wouldn’t be long. Calum watched Michael’s eyes stay on Luke until he had completely left the room, the blue haired boy’s eyes lingering on the empty doorway after his boy left.

“Well, I’m going to shower now and try not to think about all that just occurred in there.” Ashton said, untangling himself from Calum’s arms. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck.” Calum said, winking at Ashton as he disappeared into the shower room.

“And then there were two.” Michael said, taking Ashton’s now empty seat next to Calum. They were completely alone in the room, which nearly never happened, almost always being at least one other person or a camera man in the room with them.

“Don’t talk to me until you put some pants on.” Calum said, only half joking.

Michael seemed to completely ignore his comment. “We’ve been friends for a long time, haven’t we Cal?”

“Since the playground days, Mike.” Calum said, shifting slightly in his seat as he felt the atmosphere of the room suddenly shift to a more serious tone.

“You were my only best friend for so long.” Michael chuckled, rubbing his chin, seeming in deep thought.

“Yeah, only ‘cause you couldn’t make any other friends.” Calum joked, playfully punching Michael’s shoulder in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Shut up.” Michael said, laughing. “But I mean it. You were the only person who was there for me for years, and you always had so many other friends. You could’ve easily dumped our friendship aside when we got to middle school, but you didn’t. You continued to be my friend even though I was so lame and you were so…not lame.”

“You were never lame, Michael.” Calum said seriously. “You were always so interesting! And so much more fun to hang out with than all my other friends, I mean that.”

“Thanks.” Michael said, “But that’s not why I brought this up.”

Calum waited for Michael to continued, but then the blue haired boy pursed his lips, as if he was considering dropping the whole thing. Calum finally spoke up. “Then…what is it?”

Michael took a deep sigh and looked at the ground. “I think I’m going to ask Luke to marry me.”

Calum felt his own jaw drop as Michael finally looked over at the dark haired boy to see his reaction. The corners of Calum’s mouth curved upward.

“DUDE! Are you serious!?” Calum exclaimed, sitting upright on the couch and playfully punching Michael’s shoulder. “That’s awesome, bro! Oh my god!”

“You really approve?” Michael said, face softening with relief. “You don’t think it’s stupid?”

“Of course not! What the fuck?” Calum shook his head, laughing. “You’ve been in love with Luke for so long. You bought a house with him back in Sydney with a garden and everything – I’ve been wondering when one of you would pop the question, honestly.”

Michael leaned back on the couch in relief. “Thank _GOD._ I was so worried you would think I should wait. You’re the first person I told.”

“Of course not. I trust your judgment.” Calum said, smiling. “And really? I’m honored, Mikey.”

“As you should be.” Michael said, looking at his best friend and smiling. “Want to see the ring?”

“YOU HAVE THE RING _ON_ YOU!?” Calum exclaimed, eyes wide with fear. “It could’ve fallen out of your pocket on stage, idiot! How did the ring even fit in your pocke-”

“Calm down, Cal, I don’t _actually_ have the _real_ ring yet.” Michael stood up to go get his phone, settling back next to Calum to show him the picture of the ring on his phone. “It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Calum said honestly, zooming in on the picture. “It’s simple, yet elegant. Just Luke’s type. Except when it comes to men he’s interested in – then it’s complicated and messy.”

“Fuck you.” Michael said, but he was still smiling. “This ring is from a nearby store here in Montreal, and since tomorrow is a day off I’m thinking you and I can go in the morning to get it? While Luke is asleep?”

“Early? In the morning?” Calum grimaced at the thought. “Tomorrow is the only day I get to sleep in for, like, the next three weeks.”

“If you do, and Luke says yes, I’ll let you be best man at the wedding?”

“…over Ashton?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll see you in the morning.” Calum shook Michael’s hand.

“What’s over Ashton?” Ashton asked, exiting the shower room.

“Calum was just telling me his plans for tonight.” Michael said, winking at Calum.

“I hate you.” Calum said, rolling his eyes.

“No you don’t.” Michael said sincerely, smiling as he got up to finally get dressed.

~~~

“Where the hell are we?” Calum asked as he and Michael got out of the car.

“Just outside of Montreal.” Michael replied, locking the car door behind them. “I found the ring on this small business website.”

“Hope we don’t get mobbed.” Calum commented as they walked towards the building they parked in front of. “You know, since we snuck out with no security.”

“No fans in their right mind would be at a small business jewelry shop on a Monday morning in Montreal, Canada.” Michael stated firmly, pushing the door to the shop open.

There were two other groups of people in the shop, with only one person behind the counter. “I’ll be with you in a moment!” The curly haired woman said, shooting a smile in their direction. Calum nodded in response and Michael quickly began to waltz around the shop, searching for the wedding rings. The blue haired man finally stopped in front of a large glass counter, and Calum joined him by his side. Michael’s face was full of terror.

“I don’t see it.” Michael said quietly. “It’s not here.”

“Calm down, just look again.” Calum reassured, but he would be lying if he had said he didn’t already fear this would happen.

“Can I help you?” The woman from before appeared behind the counter. She smiled at the two boys widely.

“Um, yes actually.” Michael said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. His fingers were shaking as he entered the passcode to open his phone, and Calum felt sympathy for all of the anxiety Michael was enduring.

“Do you still have this ring in stock?” The pale boy asked breathlessly, holding up the phone to the women so she could see it.

“Unfortunately,” She began, “We actually just sold that ring yesterday morning, and it was one of a kind. I’m sorry.”

“To who!?” Michael asked angrily, and this time Calum placed his hand on Michael’s back to reassure him.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t give out personal records to customers.”

“How much did they pay for it?” Michael asked, eyebrows furrowed and face growing angrier. “I’ll pay you twice what they did for the ring to give me their information so I can try to negotia-”

“Michael.” Calum intervened, putting a hand on Michael’s chest to stop him. “Can you excuse us for a second?” The dark haired boy asked the store lady, receiving an odd stare in return as he dragged Michael away from the counter. “Dude, what’s going on? It’s just a ring, I’m sure there are plenty in the world similar to it.”

“No, Calum, you don’t understand.” Michael sighed, burying his face in his hands. “I found that ring on the internet six months ago, and have been trying to find a similar ring too it ever since. But you heard the lady – its ‘one of a kind’. I’m never going to find a ring that beautiful or good enough for Luke.”

“Six months ago?!” Calum asked in shock. “How long have you been thinking about proposing?”

“A while…” Michael admitted, looking at the ground. “But it doesn’t even matter anymore, does it? Luke’s never going to get the ring he deserves, and there’s nothing I can fucking do about it.”

Calum took a deep breath. “Don’t say that, Michael. Maybe you’ve just been so set on that ring that you haven’t even opened your eyes to all of the other rings around you. Let just go back and look at the other wedding rings and see if there are any there that you think Luke would like.”

Michael looked like he wanted to argue, but he eventually gave in to Calum and followed him back to the counter. And, after about half an hour of searching and comparing and critiquing, Michael was able to find a ring that he thought would be good enough.

“It’s a lot like the first one, only it’s a little shinier with the small diamonds – you don’t think it’s too much?”

“No dude.” Calum smiled. “It’s perfect. Luke’s going to geek out so hard when he sees it.”

“Wedding ring shopping is fun.” Michael said, handing the ring over to the woman behind the desk so she could take it in the back to size it for Luke’s size.

“For one of us, at least.” Calum rolled his eyes.

“Have you thought about it yet?”

“Thought about what?”

“Popping the question to Ashton?”

Calum’s stomach seemed to flip at the thought, and then immediately covered his discomfort with a laugh.

“Nooooooo, Michael, I haven’t.” Calum chuckled and looked around the room to avoid the older boy’s eyes. “I don’t think Ashton wants to get married anytime soon.”

“That doesn’t mean _you_ don’t, though.” Michael argued, “Besides, what makes you think he wouldn’t want to?”

“There are a lot of things.” Calum rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about the mental list of reasons he’s thought about over the past few months. “He always talks about how much he loves calling me his _boyfriend_ , like he wouldn’t want it to ever change to anything else. He didn’t want the whole big house with a back yard like you and Luke got – he practically _begged_ me for the big apartment we have in Sydney that looks over the city…which doesn’t exactly scream ‘domestic-family-husband’ like a big house in the suburbs does.”

Calum finally looked up to meet Michael’s eyes, which were staring at him like the dark haired boy was insane.

“What the fuck are you even talking about?” Michael protested. “Neither of those reasons even make any sense! So Ashton like’s calling you his boyfriend. Don’t you think he’d like it _even more_ if he could call you his husband?” Calum rubbed his eyes and Michael continued. “And so what that Ashton wanted to live in the city instead of the suburbs!? Ashton’s always loved a great view – and your apartment has the best one of the city he calls home. Looks over the harbor and everything. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to get married.”

“Michael!” Calum cut the pale boy off, much to Michael’s surprise. “Trust me, I know Ashton better than you. In every way. I know what he wants right now, and it’s definitely _not_ an engagement. But it’s okay, because I don’t want it either. I’m fine calling him my boyfriend. So it’s fine.”

“Ring for Clifford?” The woman from before said, holding the ring between her fingers. Michael hurried over to her to pay for the ring.

“Your loss, man.” Michael said as they left the store. “I’m going to marry my favorite person on the planet, and I’ve never been more excited for anything in my life.”

“Good, I’m glad. If anything, I can live vicariously through you.” Calum said, ending with a closed-mouth grin at the excitement of his best friend.

~~~

_Two Weeks Later…_

It was the faint buzzing of a phone that woke Calum up. He instantly realized it was Ashton’s, and he silently hoped that Ashton would sleep through it so the older boy wouldn’t have to untangle himself from Calum. The dark haired boy was being comfortably cuddled and spooned in Ashton’s arms, having fallen asleep there early that night after a show that had left the two boys exhausted.

Unfortunately, Calum felt Ashton remove his arm around Calum’s middle to roll over to reach his phone. Calum groaned, and Ashton whispered a groggy “sorry” in response.

“Hello?” Ashton’s voice was deep and scratchy, the same voice the curly haired boy would sing into Calum’s ear when he wanted Calum to wake up in the morning to go on an adventure. The younger boy wished he could find it cute in that moment, except the anger in Ashton’s voice a second later ruined it.

“Then why the fuck did you call me and not him?” Ashton asked. Calum tensed immediately.

“Well, what for?” Ashton’s voice seemed more annoyed than angry at this point, and Calum finally turned around to face him. His boyfriend was pushing strands of hair that had fallen out of his bun behind his ear, barely visible in the dimly lit hotel room.

Ashton hung up the phone and tossed it back on the counter. “Michael needs you in the hallway.”

“For what?” Calum asked, confusion filling his mind.

“Don’t know.” Ashton said simply, head falling back on his pillow. “He refused to tell me. But it sounded urgent.”

Calum scoffed and pulled himself out of the warm bed he so badly didn’t want to leave. He searched in the darkness for a pair of sweatpants, becoming lucky on the second try.

“Hurry back.” Ashton whined as Calum pulled the sweatpants on. “It’s hard for me to fall asleep without you.”

Calum rolled his eyes fondly, promising his boyfriend a swift return as he slipped into the hallway. He was greeted by a very nervous and very awake Michael, leaning against the wall with his hands in his denim jacket.

“Bro, this better be-”

“I couldn’t do it.”

“What?” Calum inquired. “Couldn’t do…what?”

Michael sighed. “Pop the question.”

“What ques – _oh_.”

Michael nodded, holding the ring between his thumb and pointer finger in front of his face, looking disappointed in himself. Calum, now out of his sleepy haze, remembered how Michael had told Calum that tonight was the night.

“I’m going to take him to the cinema, and see the new superhero movie he and I have been dying to see.” Michael had grinned, tuning his guitar next to Calum while Ashton and Luke were across the room filming an Instagram video. “Luke only likes the spotlight when he’s on stage – when he’s offstage, he prefers privacy. I’ll propose to him when we get ice cream afterward. Get on one knee and shit, the traditional way. He’ll love it.”

“I’m sure he’ll love any way you propose.” Calum replied honestly.

But now, Michael was standing in front of him, having somehow failed at the proposal. Calum began to open his mouth, but Michael beat him to it.

“I was so close to asking, I swear. I literally had my hand on my left pocket when we were at the ice cream parlor, preparing to whip it out and get on one knee. Until _he_ brought it up.”

“He…what?”

“He began talking about a girl from school – the name slips my mind – but apparently her boyfriend went all-out for the proposal, something big and extravagant. He kept saying over and over how cute it was and how much he loved it. After hearing that, I knew I had to do something more than just a traditional proposal at some nameless ice cream parlor for it to be perfect.”

“I’m sorry Michael.” Calum said, putting a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “What are you going to do?”

Michael sighed and ran a hand through his bleached blond hair. “I don’t know.”

There was a small silence between them, before Calum pulled Michael into a cuddly hug, promising him that they would think of a way to propose that would be good enough for Luke.

~~~

“What did he want?” Ashton asked as Calum slipped underneath the covers next to him. “It must’ve been important enough to call me to get you when your phone was dead.”

Calum snuggled his face into the older boy’s warm chest, breathing out slowly. “It’s a long story. I’m not technically allowed to tell you, but don’t worry. Everything’s fine. Michael is fine.”

Ashton didn’t respond at first. Calum knew that Ashton hated secrets, and if it was just a few years earlier the curly haired boy would’ve demanded Calum tell him what it was right then and there. Ashton had gotten better at accepting that he couldn’t know everyone in the band’s secrets, but that didn’t mean he liked it.

Calum had expected for Ashton to beg Calum to tell him, so he was shocked at what Ashton had to say.

“Was it something about Michael’s proposal?”

Calum froze completely, and then his head snapped to look up at the older boy. “How the fuck did yo –”

“I could hear everything you guys were saying in the shower, when he first told you, in Canada a few weeks ago.” Ashton admitted, rubbing Calum’s back as a sort of apology. “Turns out in the shower you can hear everything going on outside of the shower just as well as you can hear everything in the shower from the outside. I’ve just been waiting ever since for Luke to run up to me crying that Michael had finally proposed.”

The younger boy shook his head. “I can’t believe you knew…I was supposed to be the only one who knew.”

“Don’t feel so special now, do you?” Ashton teased, resulting in Calum flicking his nipple. “HEY! You know I’m sensitive there.”

“Do I ever.” Calum smirked up at his boyfriend, and Ashton shook his head.

“So now that you know I know…can you tell me what happened?”

Calum sighed, only thinking it over for a second before spilling the news about Michael’s failed proposal that night. Ashton simply nodded as Calum explained; face solemn and full of thought.

“Basically, Michael needs to think of a way to propose that’s special, but not public?”

“Exactly.” Calum said, sighing in relief that Ashton understood.

The older boy’s dimples deepened as his smile grew on his face. “Then I think maybe I can help you boys.”

~~~

_Six weeks later…_

Calum lounged on the large sofa, arms behind his head as he watched the football game on TV. The sun was setting over Sydney, and the wall to his left – which was a wall of just windows looking out over the city and water – gave a beautiful view that Calum admired during the commercial breaks.

Their break from touring had just started a week prior, and Calum had been spending nearly all of his time cooped up in his and Ashton’s beautiful apartment in downtown Sydney. Ashton wasn’t one to usually spend his breaks resting – he preferred to go exploring or take his family somewhere. This time had been an exception – instead of going around seeing different people they only get to see on breaks, Ashton and Calum were just inviting everyone back to their apartment to catch up. It was a nice set up, Calum admitted. And every second they didn’t have family or friends near them, Calum got the older boy all to himself.

He could hear Ashton behind the sofa in the kitchen, hurrying around, finishing the last of the meal he had planned for tonight.

“Ashton, are you seeing this sunset?” Calum asked, turning his head so he could see his boyfriend pulling something out of the oven.

“No, I’m not.” Ashton said quickly. “I’m too busy finishing this meal you didn’t help me at all with.”

“I offered – no, _begged_ – to help, like, four different times,” Calum retorted, “and you wouldn’t let me!”

“That’s because you would mess it up somehow!” Ashton replied, only half joking. Calum shook his head but smiled at the older boy, and then stood up to walk over to him.

“Can I set the table or something?” Calum asked hopefully. “I think it would be pretty hard to mess that up.”

“I guess you’re right.” Ashton said after a pause. “Remember, set it for four people because Mi-”

“Michael and Luke are coming over, I know.” Calum said as he grabbed a few plates out of the cabinets above the sink. “How could I forget?”

“I’m surprised they’re not already here.” Ashton said, tossing a salad quickly while looking at Calum, slightly nervous. “Michael said Luke would be home by 6:30 from his parent’s house, and they’d be on their way by 7?”

“That’s what he told me on the phone.” Calum confirmed.

Today was the day Michael would hopefully – _finally_ – propose to Luke. After Ashton had suggested the plan all those weeks ago, Calum suggested the plan to Michael as his own, and Michael thought it was genius. Unfortunately, the plan was one that couldn’t be played out until they were back on break in Sydney, so a month had to go by before Michael could begin the week long process that was involved with it. Today was the final day, and Calum and Ashton had invited Michael and Luke to come over for dinner that night – which was intended to be a surprise celebration party for the lucky engaged couple.

Except there was one problem. Michael and Luke hadn’t shown up or called yet.

“They better not be having ‘just engaged’ sex, resulting in falling asleep and forgetting completely to come over here.” Ashton complained as he carried the salad bowl and some dressings over to the table. “Not only have I been practicing my surprised face for when they announce they’re engaged for months, but I’ve been slaving over this meal for a goddam hour, and if it all goes to waste –”

The moment Ashton set the condiments on the table, Calum came behind the older boy and wrapped his arms around his middle, planting a kiss on Ashton’s cheek. Ashton’s monologue came to a sudden halt by this, resulting in the curly haired boy giggling and melting into Calum, hands softly petting the younger boy’s tan arms.

The two of them stood in silence for a second, looking out the windows at the bustling city below, along with the waves from the water crash into the shores of the city. Calum noticed Ashton being uncharacteristically silent, and he was about to ask the older boy if there was something wrong. But then his phone began to ring.

“Technology always ruining the damn moment.” Ashton sighed, and then laughed a little as he untangled himself from Calum’s arms to return to the kitchen. “Is it our band mates with good news?”

Calum pulled his phone out of his back pocket and smiled at the caller ID. “I think it is. Hello?”

“CALUM!” a very urgent whisper responded. Calum felt the smile drop from his face, along with every ounce of excitement he had for that night.

“You’ve got to come over here right now.”

“What!?” Calum responded, glancing over to Ashton for a quick second, the older boy catching onto the urgency of the call. “Why?!”

“I’ve been waiting out in the garden for, like, an hour now, and Luke hasn’t shown up.” Michael sounded exhausted from anxiety, and Calum wished he was there to hug him. “I don’t know if he got caught up at his parents or what. He also isn’t answering his phone.”

“Can you go inside and check for him?” Calum suggested, trying to think of the last time he had texted Luke that day, and whether or not he mentioned staying later at his parents.

“But what if he’s just inside, like, chilling in the living room?” Michael worried. “Like he hasn’t seen the note yet? Then I’ll have ruined everything.”

“Then why do you want _me_ to come over!?” Calum asked, confused by the whole situation.

“Because! If he’s inside you can suggest the note I left and see if he figures it out. Please, Calum – I promise if you do this, it will be the last time I ever ask you to help me out with this.” Michael sighed. “I know this whole thing has been a pain in the ass for you, and I’m sorry I’m such a piece of shit. But this means a lot to me, and I promise I’ll make it up to you in some way-”

“Michael.” Calum inserted, cutting the pale boy off. “It’s okay, really. I’ll be right over.”

“Thank you.” A relieved Michael said from the other end. “And again, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Calum said, “I’ll be there in 20.”

“What happened?” Ashton asked.

“Luke’s not answering his phone, and isn’t at the house, and – well, it’s just really complicated, but I need to use the car to go help Michael.”

“But – what about this dinner I prepared!?” Ashton said disappointingly, motioning with his hands to all the food around him.

“We own a microwave!” Calum said without thinking, earning a gasp from Ashton. “No, wait, that was really insensitive, I just – Michaels really worried and I really want this to go well for him and he needs me and –”

“No, I get it.” Ashton sighed. “That’s more important than this beautiful meal right now. It’s just…I spent so much time on it…”

“I know.” Calum said, walking over to grab his car keys. “I’ll promise to bring them back within the hour, as an engaged pair and nothing less.”

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Ashton said suddenly, forcing himself between the door to the elevator and Calum. “You don’t really expect me to let you go by yourself, do you?”

“But…” Calum began, confused as to what Ashton was insinuating. “Michael doesn’t know that you know about his proposal.”

“And look where it’s gotten him!” Ashton argued. “Every time something slightly goes wrong with the plan, the whole thing doesn’t happen. I’m going to go make sure everything goes perfectly, even if that means I have to get down on one knee myself.”

Calum knew that once Ashton had his mind set on something, there was no going convincing him out of it. So instead of arguing with the older boy, Calum simply held out the car ring and said, “You’re driving.”

~~~

The sun was setting by the time they arrived at the entrance to Michael and Luke’s neighborhood. It was gated and password protected, so the two had to wait for the gate to process the password before opening and allowing them to enter. Calum sat on his hands, to avoid them from shaking or messing with the radio to keep them busy. Ashton seemed calm on the outside, turning the wheel of the car as they traveled deeper into the neighborhood, but Calum noticed the death grip on the wheel Ashton’s hands had.

Their nervousness couldn’t really be completely justified. They just wanted what was best for their friends.

Ashton pulled into the driveway of Michael and Luke’s house, nearly running over a basketball in the front yard.

“Since when did either of them play basketball?” Ashton commented as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Without us!?” Calum added, opening the door of the car and beginning to walk up to the front door.

There was a key to the Clifford/Hemmings abode on Calum’s car ring, given to him the same day Michael and Luke got their own. Michael had said that one day he and Luke could both lock themselves outside of their house naked and need a non-judgmental third party to come help them get back in. Needless to say, Calum and Ashton had taken the key without asking how they would get into that situation in the first place, slightly fearing the description the other two would give.

Calum turned the key and stepped into the house, hearing the sound of TV coming from the living room. “Luke?”

“Calum?” A familiar yet worried voice rang out it response, followed by footsteps. “Is Michael with you?”

“Even better!” Ashton answered and Luke rounded the corner. “I’m here!”

Instead of looking as excited as Ashton was, Luke sighed and looked concerned. “Have either of you guys talked to him?”

“Uhhhh…” Calum hadn’t really planned for Luke to ask that question, and he really didn’t know how to respond. “…no”

“Neither of you were answering your phones.” Ashton stated easily. “You were supposed to be at our apartment at 7:30 but neither of you were, so we headed over to see if everything was okay.”

“Oh.” Luke responded, seeming to understand. “I’m really sorry guys. I accidentally left my phone at my parents, and just assumed I could wait until Michael got home so we could drive past there to grab it before heading over to your place. Except Michael’s not here. But his car is, so I have no idea what he’s doing or who he’s with. Do you guys want a drink?”

“I would love a glass of water!” Ashton said excitingly, as Luke began to lead them into the kitchen. On the way, Ashton leaned up into Calum’s ear and whispered, “You glad I’m here yet or what?”

“Shut up.” The dark haired boy responded lightly, sitting down at the kitchen table as Luke brought over 3 glasses of water for them.

“So Luke.” Ashton said after taking a drink. “Anything exciting happen this week?”

“Not really.” Luke said, taking a seat down across the table from Calum and Ashton. “The first two days back, Michael and I mostly just laid around. The past few days I’ve been spending either at my parents’ house with Michael, or at Michael’s parents with him. Today was the first day I spent away from him, and somehow he’s fallen off the face of the earth.”

Calum rolled his eyes. “Or maybe just into your gar –”

“So! Nothing besides that?” Ashton said loudly over Calum, nearly scaring Luke to death.

“Um, nothing I can think of.” Luke said honestly. “Should there be?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Ashton said, standing up and strolling over to walk over to the fridge. “I was just wondering if anything odd or unusual has been popping up multiple times over the last week, like any weird spots on the carpet, or anything different to your kitchen, or anything like that.”

Luke looked over at Ashton suspiciously, still not quite grasping on to whatever he was talking about. “No. Nothing like that…at least that I’ve noticed?”

“What about…THIS!” Ashton ripped a green sticky note off of the fridge, holding it up so Luke could see. The letter “N” was the only thing sketched on it.

“OH YEAH! The weird letter notes!” Luke smiled at his ability to recall them now. “Yeah, there’s been some weird letters being left around the past few days, and I’ve just assumed it was Michael leaving a note for himself to remember to do something. I’ve just been throwing them away at the end of every day.”

“YOU WHAT?!” Calum exploded, leaping out of his chair. Luke jumped at his sudden movement, looking terrified and glued to his seat. “You THREW THEM AWAY!?”\

“Was I not supposed to do that!?” Luke asked frantically, looking back and forth between Calum and Ashton, the eldest boy rubbing his face in frustration.

“No, Luke. They were important!” Calum explained. “They had an important message on them!”

“What?!” Luke said desperately, trying to decipher what Calum was talking about.

“Okay, okay, everyone take a deep breath.” Ashton said, running a hand through his hair. “Luke, have you taken out the garbage in the past week?”

“Um…no.” Luke looked slightly embarrassed. “Michael and I let our cleaning lady have a week off since we haven’t been home, and we’ve been meaning to call her to come back but –”

“Good, that’s good news!” Ashton said in a relieved tone. “Jesus, for once I’m glad you two are lazy fucks. Now, let’s take a look at the garbage you’ve accumulated in the past week.”

~~

15 minutes and four trash bags later, the three boys had found all the post-it note letters.

“How many times in a week can a couple have sex in the fucking kitchen!?” Calum complained as he washed his hands in burning hot water after having touched his third condom of the night.

“What? You and Ash don’t have kitchen sex?” Luke exclaimed, seemingly unembarrassed. Calum really hated how some of Michael’s personality traits had rubbed off on Luke over the years, especially the unashamed-about-their-sex-life one. “If not, you should definitely try it sometime. It’s life changing.”

“Let’s talk about me and Cal’s sex life later.” Ashton said wearily, wiping the sweat off his forehead as he cut open the last bag of trash. “Just keep searching.”

Now that they had found all the letters, Calum and Ashton had set them in front of a still confused Luke.

“You aren’t going to help me figure out the message?” The blond boy asked, having that same face he used on Michael to get whatever he wanted.

Calum shook his head. “The notes weren’t left for us, mate. They were left for you.”

“Oh.” Luke said, a blush running over his cheeks as he began to sort the letters into different patterns. Calum and Ashton both stood across the island countertop from him, watching intently. Ashton looked as if he was very calm and collected, while Calum impatiently tapped his foot and attempted to not look out the kitchen window too much. He didn’t have a clear view anyways.

It wasn’t until the sun had set completely that Luke had managed to figure out the message.

“Garden?” He said unsurely, receiving two sighs of relief in response. “What does that mean?”

“Why don’t you go out there and find out yourself?” Ashton said with a soft smile. Luke raised an eyebrow in response, looking suspiciously between him and Calum. The dark haired boy did his best to stop himself from picking Luke up and throwing him out the window himself. Luke finally walked around the counter to the back door leading to the garden, taking a quick look at Ashton and Calum before venturing out of it.

“JESUS!” Calum exclaimed, falling on a barstool placed near them while rubbing his eyes. “I thought he’d never fucking figure it out.”

“Do you think you should’ve texted Mikey before we let Luke out?”

Calum’s eyes shot open with fear. “Probably.”

The two boys looked at each other for a split second, before running out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. They both had the same idea in mind, heading to the guest bedroom they had stayed in so many times, rushing to the window that overlooked the garden. Ashton quickly unhitched the window lock and pushed it up, just in time to see Luke approach the chair swing Michael had been sitting in.

Calum could see Michael in the moonlight, resting his head on his guitar, eyes closed. He was asleep. Ashton face palmed.

“Michael?” A confused Luke asked, halting in his spot. When the older boy didn’t respond, Luke took a few steps forward, so he could carefully shake Michael’s shoulder. When the pale boy’s eyes opened, Calum watched him violently rip away from Luke’s grasp out of surprise.

“Luke!” Michael gasped, shaking his head to wake himself up. He ran his hands through his dyed black hair, forgetting his guitar in his lap that nearly fell to the ground. Luke grabbed in on instinct, returning it to Michael. “Where the hell where you!? I called you multiple times.”

“I was inside.” Luke said, frustration growing in his voice. “I forgot my phone at my parents’. How long have you been out here?”

Sensing the lack of patience in Luke, Michael cleared his throat and dropped the argument.

“Um, there’s a reason for that.” Michael said this so quietly that Calum and Ashton both had their heads out the window, attempting to somehow hear their conversation better.

“What is it, Mikey?” Luke asked, recognizing the seriousness in the older boy’s voice.

“Well, actually,” Michael began, propping himself up more steadily, “I wrote you a song.”

Calum could see the softening in Luke’s face from the second story of their house. It definitely wasn’t the first time Michael had ever written a song about Luke. And it definitely wasn’t going to be the last. Michael always said that Luke was his main source of inspiration, and Calum could relate – not to the blond boy, but to the boy who was looking out the window beside him at the time. Ashton has probably been Calum’s inspiration for his lyrics longer than the younger boy could ever admit; going back years when they took their Christmas holiday to Scotland, when Calum first began to realize he wasn’t thinking about girls when he wrote his songs, but the older curly haired boy he called his best friend.

Michael began to strum his guitar, and Calum immediately heard the pale boy curse under his breath.

“Oh no.” Ashton gasped in a whisper. “There’s something wrong with his guitar.”

Calum squinted, attempting and failing to properly see Michael’s acoustic guitar through the dark. He could however see Michael struggling with tuning a certain string, resulting in it snapping. Calum and Ashton gasped simultaneously, while both Michael and Luke both shuddered at the sound.

“Fuck, you know what? Forget it; I’ll play it for you another time.” Michael practically threw the guitar aside, standing in front of Luke. The utter confusion that was already etched on Luke’s face grew deeper as Michael suddenly closed the space between them, taking Luke’s hands in his.

“Luke…” Michael began, verbally gulping as he looked into his boyfriend’s eyes. “There’s something I –”

And then, in a split second, Calum watched every trace of confusion on Luke’s face disappear into complete shock and excitement.

“YES!” Luke gasped, pulling his hands out of Michaels and covering his mouth. The blond man laughed in relief and happiness as he began bouncing on his heels. “YES YES YES!”

“Luke!” Michael exclaimed, smiling, carefully putting both his hands on Luke’s arms. “You gotta let me finish wha –”

“It doesn’t matter! I know what you’re going to ask, and yes yes yes of course yes!” Luke then flung his arms around Michael’s neck, kissing him on the mouth, knocking the two of them off their feet to the ground.

“FINALLY!” Ashton breathed out, laughing while throwing an around Calum, who was also laughing and hugging him back. The corners of the younger boy’s cheeks were sore from smiling so big after watching his two best friends finally, _finally_ get engaged. He couldn’t even imagine the happiness that Michael was feeling right then.

“Don’t you want to see the ring, Lukey?”

Ashton and Calum immediately pulled away from each other to return their attention to the garden to see Michael and Luke still on the ground, Michael reaching behind himself to get the ring out of his back pocket. He pulled out a small grey velvet box, opening it to the blond man in front of him. Luke gasped again, and Calum could swear he could see the ring shining in the dark night.

“Its…beautiful.” Luke said quietly in awe, reaching out to brush the pads of his fingers over it. “It’s so perfect…”

“Want me to put it on you?” Michael asked with a satisfied grin, Luke nodding before the older boy had even finished speaking. Calum and Ashton watched eagerly as Michael delicately took the ring out of the box with one hand, holding Luke’s left hand in the other, beginning to slide the ring on, and –

“Shit.”

“What happened?” Ashton asked under his breath, the two boys on the ground only barely visible from the light of the moon.

“Why doesn’t it fit?! I got it sized and everything!” Michael exclaimed, and Calum felt his heart drop into his stomach. “I had to pay extra and shit for this, and they couldn’t even fucking do it right!”

“Michael,” Luke said calmly, giggling a little, obviously still on his high of being proposed to. “It’s okay, we can get it sized later.”

“But everything was supposed to be perfect.” Michael sighed, falling on his back in the grass. “And literally every detail of this proposal has gone to shit. I wanted my proposal to you to be as perfect as you are, and I’ve literally fucked up every aspect of it.”

Luke was quiet for a second, as if in deep thought, before standing and saying quickly, “I’ll be right back.”

“What?” Michael asked, sitting back up. Luke was already halfway back to the house by the time Michael said this, leaving the older boy on the ground by himself. Luke was back out in seconds, joining Michael on the ground by sitting criss cross across from him. There was something in his hand that neither Ashton or Calum could identify. And by the look on Michael’s face, he was as confused as they were.

“A sharpie?” Michael asked the blond, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

“Yes, a sharpie.” Luke confirmed. “Want to draw me a new ring?”

Michael’s face softened into complete admiration and fond, smiling at his boy before taking the sharpie from him and holding Luke’s left hand in position.

“They can’t be serious.” Ashton shook his head and rolled his eyes, as Calum began to giggle uncontrollably. He couldn’t say he was surprised though – it was totally a Luke thing to do; finding a way to make Michael feel better when everything else in the world felt hopeless.

“Moonlight is a good look on you.” Michael said with a grin, glancing up from time to time to gaze into Luke’s eyes.

“Is that so?” Luke said, smirking back at the pale man.

“Yeah.” Michael said, finishing off the drawn ring and handing the marker back to Luke. “Kind of makes you look like an angel, but like, an angel in disguise.”

Luke shook his head, lips smiling so hard looking up into his now fiancé’s eyes. “I love you, Michael.”

Michael placed his now free hand on the back of Luke’s neck. “And I love you, Luke.”

“AND WE LOVE YOU BOTH TOO!” Ashton screamed out the window, surprising and scaring both of them. Calum laughed until his stomach hurt, eyes closed and beginning to dampen with happy tears, hearing Michael yell “ASSHOLE!” from the garden up at them.

~~~

_10 months later…_

The crowd in front of Calum clapped and laughed as Calum ended his speech with that story, with heightened cheers from the married couple down the table from the dark haired boy. Michael screamed he loved Calum from the other side of the table, to which Calum said “You’re alright” in response. The tan boy watched as Michael fixed his hair absentmindedly, catching a glimpse of the tattoo that wound around his left ring finger. Turned out the sharpie incident gave Michael and idea, to get a tattoo of a ring on his finger instead of getting the real thing. Michael had always said “This way I never have to take it off if it gets annoying, because, it never will.”

Calum took his seat, only to be dragged out of it seconds later by his boyfriend.

“What are you doing!?” Calum whispered, as Jack – Luke’s best man – began his own speech.

“Want to reward you for a speech well done.” Ashton said, turning around to wink at Calum before continuing to drag him by his hand out of the ballroom. Calum cocked an eyebrow from this, and as if Ashton could read his mind, he responded. “I already got the okay from Luke, so don’t worry.”

Whatever this reward was, Calum definitely wasn’t going to deny it. He followed Ashton down the hall and to the elevator. Their hotel room was on the top floor, only a few doors down from Michael and Luke’s room, as the engaged had requested for some reason. Ashton and Calum had initially denied this, not wanting to listen to their married-people-sex on their wedding night, but Michael and Luke promised it was just so the four of them could have their own little party following the big after party in the ballroom.

The moment the elevator closed, Ashton threw himself at Calum. He pushed the younger boy against the wall and pressed and opened mouth kiss to Calum’s neck. Calum moaned in surprised pleasure, running his hands up Ashton’s back, feeling a little regretful that he couldn’t feel the older boys defined back muscles through his suit.

“Ash…” Calum breathed out. Ashton pulled away from kissing Calum’s neck to settling on his mouth, kissing him hard and deep. If Calum was honest, he and Ashton hadn’t done anything like this in a public place in quite a while – maybe years – and that just made it all the more hot.

“Can’t wait to get you out of these clothes.” Ashton growled low into Calum’s jaw as he palmed the younger boy’s dick through his pants. “You look so fucking good in them, but even hotter out of them.”

Calum breathed out shakily, burying a hand in Ashton’s hair. The elevator door opened to their floor, and the moment it did Ashton moved away. He looked at Calum, giggled a little, and then ran down the hall away from Calum. Calum rolled his eyes and then followed, yelling “HEY!” at his boyfriend as they both giggled and laughed until they reached their door.

Ashton finally managed to get the door open and pulled Calum by his hand inside. “Get undressed quickly, but be careful. Our clothes need to be still intact and not wrinkly if we ever expect to return to the party downstairs with our dignity.”

Calum nodded and began to strip, laying his clothes carefully on a chair in the corner of the room. He had barely pulled his pants off before Ashton was again grabbing him by the hand and pulling Calum to him. The older boy pushed Calum onto the still made bed, the dark haired boy going willingly as Ashton climbed on top of him, their hard dicks brushing slightly, sending waves of pleasure over Calum’s whole body.

If Calum was honest, he was expecting for Ashton to fuck him right then. He could see the small bottle of lube lying next to them on the bed, and they never needed that stuff unless that’s what they were doing. So the younger boy was surprised when Ashton caressed the side of his face, pausing his own face inches above the younger boy’s, slowing the whole world down for him. Ashton was looking into the Calum’s eyes with complete awe, and Calum could help but chuckle at this surprising turn of events as he ran his hand through Ashton’s hair. He met the other boy’s hazel eyes, looking so intently into his that for a second Calum wondered if something was wrong. Then suddenly Ashton’s lips were on his, but not in an aggressive way like they usually were in bed – in a soft, deep, romantic way, that knocked the breath out of Calum. Ashton’s tongue swiped the top of his mouth, pulling the most wrecked moan out of Calum to date. Calum could feel Ashton’s kiss-swollen lips smile into his mouth.

After a little while, Ashton moves his legs so he was properly straddling Calum and began to slowly grind down into him. The sudden friction after all the sensual kissing made Calum’s eyes roll back in his head. Ashton continued for a moment without detaching his lips from Calum’s until he suddenly moved his head away to reach for the lube. It was then Calum assumed Ashton would begin to open him up with his sinfully long fingers, before tossing Calum’s legs over his shoulders and begin to fuck into him – Calum’s favorite way of getting fucked. So the younger boy was surprised when Ashton squeeze some lube into his fingers and began to rub it along both of their dicks, which felt incredible to Calum, but also confusing.

It wasn’t until Ashton began was done, rubbing the access lube on the duvet of the bed, before he began grinding down on Calum again – harder, and with more purpose this time. It was like the air was punched out of Calum, and he moaned loud while running his hands along Ashton’s bare back.

“You like that, babe?” Ashton asks in a low voice, directly into Calum’s ear. Unable to form words, Calum just simply nodded enthusiastically in response, encouraging Ashton to increase his speed. “You looked so good tonight, fuck, and you know I love a great view.” Ashton continued, earning a whimper from Calum’s lips. Calum’s thoughts – as clouded as they were with the current situation – were going a mile a minute.

The two boys hadn’t done _anything_ like this since before they were dating, when they would get back to their hotel in whatever country they were in, sharing drunk kisses and touches that were their secrets to keep. The dark haired boy remembered how it was their first time doing anything sexual together, and they were both too drunk and too horny to make a decision on what or how to do anything. So they ended up grinding their cocks together until they made each other come. Not bad for their first time – of many times – of getting each other off.

Ashton moaned low and deep in Calum’s ear again, making his hard dick get impossibly harder as the older boy ran a hand down Calum’s bicep and then chest. “You’re so good, so good to me, feel so good, Calum.” He wasn’t making perfect sense, but Calum couldn’t blame him – Calum’s own mind had left him at a loss for words, each move of the two boy’s hips together clouding it even more and more, the only word making it to Calum’s lips being Ashton’s name.

Calum felt the familiar feeling in his tummy, moaning Ashton’s name louder as his hands ran over Ashton’s nipples before finding Ashton’s hips and squeezing them tightly. Ashton seemed to catch on, moving even faster against Calum, their slicked up cocks leaking with precum onto each other’s tummies. It wasn’t until Ashton bit the sensitive spot on Calum’s neck that the dark haired boy was coming, moaning so loudly he wondered if everyone in the hotel could hear him.

It wasn’t that Calum wasn’t usually loud – Ashton would sometimes tease him about it after sex, when they’re tangled in the sheets and cuddling and giggling together – but he felt like his orgasm was so strong tonight that he might’ve overdone it. Ashton definitely didn’t mind though – Calum actually believed it brought him to come faster, his rutting becoming sloppy and drastic as Calum’s voice rang out loudly in the room from his own orgasm, leading Ashton to come not long after Calum.

Calum felt insane as he cradled Ashton’s face in his hands and pulled him into another sensual kiss. The dark haired boy couldn’t remember the last time he had ever had sex with Ashton that felt this _deep_ without actually having the older boy’s dick in his ass – or vice versa, of course. Calum’s hands traveled to Ashton’s ass, giving it a small squeeze, making Ashton surprisingly giggle.

“Way to ruin the romance, bro.” Ashton laughed.

“Butt touching can be romantic!” Calum defended, squeezing Ashton’s ass harder for emphasis, still not gaining anything but laughter from the other boy. “Besides, calling me _bro_ is even less romantic than this.”

“Touché.” Ashton shrugged, finally earning a smile out of Calum. “Here, cuddle for a few minutes?”

After Ashton retrieved a wash cloth and cleaned both he and Calum up, the two boys silently wiggled under the covers and into each other’s arms. Calum rested his head on Ashton’s chest, listening to the older boy’s heart beat while feeling his soft yet hard abdomen. Ashton hummed softly while kissing Calum’s head over and over again.

As much as Calum loved this, something seemed off. The younger boy finally looked up into Ashton’s eyes and asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” Ashton responded, running lazy fingers through Calum’s dark hair.

“I don’t know.” Calum shrugged, feeling embarrassed. “You’re just being so… _romantic_ …just a little surprising.”

“What? I can’t be romantic with my boyfriend who I love once in a while?” Ashton asked, flicking Calum’s head playfully.

“It’s not that!” Calum promised. “It’s just…you’re not usually this romantic during sex.”

“I suppose that’s fair.” Ashton shrugged, cupping Calum’s face with one of his hands. “I guess I just wanted to remind you of how in love I am with you, Calum.”

Calum felt his cheeks blush – so many years they’ve been dating, and he still blushed when Ashton says he loves him – and he told Ashton he loved him too.

“As you should.” Ashton said with a smirk, then nodding to the neglected lube bottle at the end of bed. “Do you mind putting that away? In the top drawer under the TV?”

“That requires me to get out of bed.” Calum complained, not exactly understanding why Ashton would want Calum to get out of bed so suddenly. But the younger boy didn’t protest, standing up to retrieve the lube, opening the drawer to drop it in and –

Calum’s breath caught in his throat as he stared into the drawer. He felt like his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets by how wide they were growing as he stared at the small object that sat in the middle of the drawer.

“Oh, by the way Cal, can you bring me the small blue box in there while you’re at it?” Ashton asked nonchalantly. Calum swung his head around to look at Ashton, lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, a small knowing smirk on his lips. Calum grabbed the small box in disbelief as he slowly walked over to his boyfriend.

“Ashton…”

“Get back in bed, babe.” Ashton stated, sitting up pulling the covers back so Calum could join him. Calum’s heart was thumping incredibly fast, wondering if this was some kind of a prank Ashton was pulling on him.

But it wasn’t.

“Calum Thomas Hood.” Ashton stated, laughing a little while running a hand down Calum’s left arm before intertwining their fingers. “I have never loved anything on this earth as much as I love you. We’ve traveled the world together – seen it all – and there’s nothing that takes my breathe away more than your smile. Before I met you, I felt like an outcast to the world, and that I would never find someone to love me the way you do. I’m so lucky to have you, and if you would do the honor…”

Calum lunged himself forward and crashed into Ashton, kissing his lips and hugging him tightly.

“Yes!” Calum said, surprisingly feeling tears spring to his eyes. He never thought he would ever cry when being proposed to, but he supposed he never thought Ashton would actually do it. “Of course, Ashy, I love you.”

“Thank GOD!” Ashton laughed, kissing every place on Calum’s face he could reach. “I was so nervous, Cal, you would never believe…”

“Really?!” Calum exclaimed, still in shock. “You did a good job at hiding it! I never saw it coming.”

“Want to see your ring?” Ashton asked, his signature dimply smile making Calum’s heart jump as he nodded in response. Ashton took the box in his hand and slowly opened it for his now fiancé.

It was stunning. Calum gasped as he looked at the ring, its shiny elegance knocking the breath out of Calum’s lungs. “It’s perfect.” Calum breathed out, as Ashton took it out of the box and began slipping it on the younger boy’s left ring finger. Calum held it up to look at it, not being able to help but feel like he’s seen it before. His eyes widened at the sudden realization of where he _had_ seen it, but before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door.

“ASH!” Calum heard a familiar voice ring out from the other side of the door. “DID YOU POP THE UH…POPCORN YET?”

Ashton rolled his eyes and yelled back “Yes, and he said yes!”

Just then the door flung open and two men ran through it, yelling congratulations excitingly. Calum pulled the covers over him and Ashton – they were still nude from earlier – but their two best friends didn’t seem to mind. Luke and Michael both jumped on the bed with them, hugging and kissing their cheeks.

“Yuck!” Ashton yelled, wiping his cheek from the especially wet kiss Michael had left there.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were proposing tonight, bro!” Michael exclaimed. “I almost thought Luke was lying to me when he told me!”

“Well, you didn’t tell me about YOUR proposal, so I thought it was only fair!” Ashton responded, flicking Michael.

“Isn’t the ring gorgeous!?” Luke asked Calum, grabbing his hand to look at it.

“It is.” Calum confirmed. “I’m sure Michael will definitely think so too.”

“What was that?” Michael asked. Instead of responding, Calum held his hand in front of Michael, showing him the ring. Calum giggled a little as Michael’s face fell, and then immediately turned back to Ashton to slap him lightly across the face.

“What the –”

“THAT’S THE RING!” Michael basically screamed, grabbing Calum’s hand and looking at it more closely. “THAT’S THE RING I’D BEEN LOOKING FOR, IN THE JEWELRY SHOP IN MONTREAL! They said it was one of a kind…”

“Wait.” Ashton interjected. “You went ring shopping in Montreal? That’s where I got this ring for Calum!”

Calum and Michael’s eyes met for a second before they both burst into laughter, leaving Luke and Ashton in confusion.

“I don’t get what’s so funny.” Luke stated.

“It’s nothing, Lukey.” Michael confirmed. “Your ring is bigger and shinier, nothing to worry about.”

“HEY!” Ashton began, but Calum cut him off.

“You bought this ring over a year ago?” Calum asked, looking into Ashton’s eyes. “Why didn’t you propose sooner?”

“I was afraid you didn’t want to rush things.” Ashton said honestly, smiling softly at Calum. “I didn’t know if marriage was what you wanted, so I decided to wait until Michael and Luke got married, hoping that maybe you would be more open to it now.”

Calum smiled and kissed his now fiancé, feeling so silly for both of them misreading the other. Even though he had previously said that he wasn’t extremely set on getting married so soon, it was Ashton, and that changed anything. He loved Ashton with his whole heart, and wanted nothing else that to get even closer to him in marriage.

“Cuddle fest before we return?” Luke asked, his big blue eyes shining and begging in a way that wouldn’t allow anyone to reject his offer. The four boys cuddled into each other, finding their comfortable silence that took them years to master. Calum kissed Ashton’s bare chest while he fiddled with the ring on his finger, surrounded by his three favorite people in the world, thinking about how incredibly lucky he really was.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments/kudos and follow my [tumblr!](http://muketrash.tumblr.com/)


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